Omar Abdullah on Kashmir: India-Pakistan came closer to settlement during Manmohan Singh's regime

Jammu & Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah

On Monday, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah stated that India and Pakistan came closer to settling the Kashmir issue during the UPA era under Manmohan Singh’s leadership. He admitted that he does not foresee a return to that stage in his lifetime.

During obituary references for Singh and four other former legislators on the opening day of the Budget Session of the J-K Assembly in Jammu, Omar Abdullah praised Singh for initiating efforts to facilitate the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits. He noted that Singh’s working groups remain relevant even today.

The Assembly observed a two-minute silence to honour former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former minister Syed Ghulam Hussain Geelani, former Rajya Sabha MP Shamsher Singh Manhas, and former MLAs Ghulam Hassan Parrey and Choudhary Piara Singh, who passed away after the last session in November.

Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather moved the obituary reference after Lt Governor Manoj Sinha's address. Several members including Sham Lal Sharma (BJP), G A Mir (Congress) and M Y Tarigami (CPIM) also spoke in the House.

Abdullah recalled Singh’s journey – which started from a village (now in Pakistan) – to becoming the PM of India. He also acknowledged Singh’s contributions in transforming India into an economic powerhouse, particularly through reforms focused on the private sector and social welfare.

On J-K, "he tried to address the problem with the outside country (Pakistan). He did not make this initiative but inherited it as the start was made by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and (then Pakistan president Gen Pervez) Musharraf. He would have stopped the initiative after taking over as the Prime Minister (in 2004), but he was well aware that the initiative taken by Vajpayee is a big responsibility to carry forward,” the chief minister said.

Singh made sincere efforts despite the deteriorating situation, he said, in an apparent reference to terror incidents.

“May I say that both the countries have come closer to resolving this (Kashmir) problem during that period and I do not see a return to the situation in my lifetime,” Abdullah said.

He said when the situation deteriorated in 2010, Singh tried to heal the wounds by setting up working groups, whether related to politics or meant to improve governance, and they are still relevant.

Referring to displaced Kashmiri Pandits, Abdullah said everyone is talking about the community but practical steps for their welfare were taken by the Singh-led government.

(With PTI inputs)